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A review by pamelina
An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler by Vanessa Riley
2.0
2/5
This book... How to properly explain my experience with this book?
I think, generally, I was very confused. I have not read the first book in this series, so that may be why I was so confused. I don't think this can be read as a standalone, and you should probably read the first one before this. I feel like I was really missing some context. I can't really fault the book for being part of a series, but I do wish there was more explanation at the beginning.
Once I kind of understood what was going on, I enjoyed the book a lot more. I really liked the focus on race throughout this book. The Hero is Black, and the Heroine is from Jamaica. Themes of race and interracial relationships were explored, which I haven't often read in historical romance novels. It was refreshing and so welcome.
I also liked the exploration of the role of women during this time and mental health. The book explored how women often had to fend for themselves in legal proceedings, and they didn't have agency in terms of their mental health. Any sort of mental illness, real or imagined by men in their lives, could get a woman imprisoned and no longer in control of her possessions or life. It honestly made me mad reading about it, and I'm glad that this book discussed it.
That's about where my praise ends. I didn't love the characters very much. I didn't like that Jemina consistently hit Daniel whenever she was upset. And I didn't understand why their conflict dragged out for so long. If they had just communicated better with one another, the majority of the conflict within this novel could have been avoided. Conflict fueled solely by poor communication doesn't really do it for me.
There were also some things left unfinished in this book, which I'm assuming will be cleared up in future books. So I would just caution people expecting this to be a typical romance book within a series; do not expect all loose ends to be tied up. You'll have to read the next book (I think) to get closure.
This book just wasn't what I was expecting. And the parts that I did like, while lovely, didn't make up for the confusion, inconsistent pacing, and general lack of structure the book had. I wish I had liked it more. I'm super willing to check out other books by this author in the future, but this one was just not right for me.
note: This book was provided to me by NetGalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book... How to properly explain my experience with this book?
I think, generally, I was very confused. I have not read the first book in this series, so that may be why I was so confused. I don't think this can be read as a standalone, and you should probably read the first one before this. I feel like I was really missing some context. I can't really fault the book for being part of a series, but I do wish there was more explanation at the beginning.
Once I kind of understood what was going on, I enjoyed the book a lot more. I really liked the focus on race throughout this book. The Hero is Black, and the Heroine is from Jamaica. Themes of race and interracial relationships were explored, which I haven't often read in historical romance novels. It was refreshing and so welcome.
I also liked the exploration of the role of women during this time and mental health. The book explored how women often had to fend for themselves in legal proceedings, and they didn't have agency in terms of their mental health. Any sort of mental illness, real or imagined by men in their lives, could get a woman imprisoned and no longer in control of her possessions or life. It honestly made me mad reading about it, and I'm glad that this book discussed it.
That's about where my praise ends. I didn't love the characters very much. I didn't like that Jemina consistently hit Daniel whenever she was upset. And I didn't understand why their conflict dragged out for so long. If they had just communicated better with one another, the majority of the conflict within this novel could have been avoided. Conflict fueled solely by poor communication doesn't really do it for me.
There were also some things left unfinished in this book, which I'm assuming will be cleared up in future books. So I would just caution people expecting this to be a typical romance book within a series; do not expect all loose ends to be tied up. You'll have to read the next book (I think) to get closure.
This book just wasn't what I was expecting. And the parts that I did like, while lovely, didn't make up for the confusion, inconsistent pacing, and general lack of structure the book had. I wish I had liked it more. I'm super willing to check out other books by this author in the future, but this one was just not right for me.
note: This book was provided to me by NetGalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.